After COVID-19 cancellation last year, Vienna Philharmonic includes Korea in its Asian tour

The biblical story of Samson and Delilah will get a major reinterpretation at the upcoming performance presented by the Korea National Opera in October, as the set moves from Biblical Gaza to 1938 Nazi Germany. The KNO is to stage opera “Samson and Delilah,” Oct. 7-10, at the Seoul Arts Center, commemorating the 100th anniversary since the death of Saint-Saens. It will be the first time in 40 years that the state opera company has gone onstage with the opera work. This time, the

Nine out of 10 South Korean adults have received at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine, helping the country to get closer to a goal of creating herd immunity, the health authority said Tuesday. A total of 39.7 million people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 77.4 percent of the country's 51.3 million population or 90 percent of those aged over 18, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The number of fully vaccinated people stood a

K-pop girl group aespa unveiled its first EP "Savage" Tuesday, expressing hope to move on to a higher level with the album directed by Lee Soo-man, the chief producer and founder of major K-pop agency SM Entertainment. "We're so thrilled and nervous to release our first physical album," the group said during an online press showcase event for the album set to be out at 6 p.m. "We'll show you aespa upgraded one level with 'Savage,' so please keep an eye on us." The

South Korean stocks plunged to an almost seven-month low Tuesday, as investor sentiment was weakened by the debt ceiling tussle in the United States and debt crises involving Chinese property developers. The Korean won closed unchanged against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) tumbled 57.01 points, or 1.89 percent, to close at 2,962.17 points, the lowest finish since March 10. Trading volume was moderate at about 830 million shares worth some 15.1 trillion wo

Most of North Korea’s naval drills involving submarines in the past seven years took place in 2018, when the two Koreas held talks three times to defuse tensions, Rep. Han Ki-ho of the opposition People Power Party said Tuesday, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The military found that the North deployed its submarines to rehearse attacks on the South about 150 times in 2018, the highest number since 2014, when such drills took place about 120 times. Excluding 2018 from 2015 to 2019, Pyon

Japan’s export restrictions on three key industrial materials critical for South Korea’s chip and display industries has had little impact against the target materials, but worsened overall trade between the two countries, a major business representation group here said Tuesday. Releasing an analysis, the Federation of Korean Industries urged Japan and its new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to lift the export restrictions the country imposed against Korea in July 2019. According t

A garden has been created in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, to honor Australian veterans who participated in the Battle of Gapyeong during the Korean War from April 22-25, 1951, and to pray for future peace. The creation of the garden on Thursday is in line with the opening of the Jaraseom Namdo flower garden, which has become a popular tourist attraction in Gapyeong.　 The Jaraseom Namdo flower became an attraction to experience the essence of autumn flowers for a month from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24.

The Danish Embassy, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center and Danish medical-tech firms on Thursday co-hosted the 2021 Health-Tech Workshop to boost cooperation on smart hospitals. According to the Danish Embassy, the workshop sought to enhance cooperation between Dongsan Medical Center, which will be upgraded into a smart hospital by 2025, and Danish companies specializing in health technology. The workshop presented Denmark’s Super Hospital project to transform 18 hospitals in the

GANDHI ANNIVERSARY – Surinder Bhagat, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Seoul delivers remarks on Gandhi’s thoughts and ideals in celebration of the 152nd anniversary his birth on Saturday. Gandhi was born on Oct. 2, 1869. (Embassy of India)

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki came under fire during a parliamentary inspection on Tuesday for failing to stop the relentless rise in housing prices despite dozens of policy measures implemented in recent months. To address the nationwide outcry over soaring housing prices, the Moon Jae-in administration has introduced 26 sets of real estate policies. The latest centered on raising taxes on owners of multiple homes and rooting out property speculation. But there are signs these policies may ba